The office granted 1,390 patents related to the Internet in the first half of 1999, compared with 648 in all of 1997.

The local registrar's office granted Geital permission for only church historical paintings.

The District Attorney's office granted the Fire Department's request to begin an administrative investigation yesterday.

The office also grants equipment authorizations, experimental licenses and special temporary operation authority.

The commissioner's office granted the customary 72-hour period, beginning Wednesday, and the Reds and Goldberg reached agreement yesterday.

The commissioner's office could grant the teams a 72-hour window to try to work out a deal.

His office has granted nearly $1 billion in tax breaks to the tobacco companies, but he said the local government had no say in pricing matters.

In the past, the office has granted patents for new microorganisms and plants, but has not approved patentability for animals.

Russian consular offices do not grant visas to foreign passport holders who are (or are suspected to be) Russian citizens.

Mr. Lackman said he would save about $150 million of that total since he anticipated that his office would grant some exceptions for critical needs.